Saving the Adventure Heart
by CyberXIII
Summary: Now was the time to finally wipe those chosen out forever. The poor fools were helpless For how can the body survive without the head? And how can an army fight without a general to lead it?


Hello, all.

I'm CyberXIII, longtime Digimon fan. I've decided to take this writing thing seriously and unleash a plot bunny that's been knocking around in my head for quite some time now.

* * *

Daisuke closed his eyes together tightly as he could, convulsing wildly and trying desperately to pull the thing off his arm before it consumed him. Daisuke clutched at his arm, screaming as agony lanced through it and into tortured body. He seized the object that tormented him so badly, straining to remove it, but the pain only intensified as he thrashed around wildly. The dark spiral's runes glowed malevolently as the device tried to take over his mind.

_No….NO….__**NO**__…_

As his will faded, and all became pain, Daisuke's thoughts turned to those he loved.

_V-mon…Taichi…I'm sorry I failed you. Hikari…I'll always love you…Everyone…I..._

Dimly, Daisuke could hear the others crying his name. V-mon 's voice carried over their others but even that wasn't enough to clear the haze of pain clouding his vision. Daisuke lashed out wildly, his right arm striking flesh

_No…don't make me hurt them…no…_

Daisuke felt his right arm, stronger than ever, horribly so, seize something long and metallic. He lifted it over his head and started lashing out at everything in striking distance.

_I can't stop…I CAN'T STOP IT! GUYS, STOP ME! KILL ME!_

* * *

"DAMN THOSE CHILDREN! DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL!"

After returning from the disastrous battle with MetalGreymon, the Digimon Kaiser stomped into his base, ranting and raving and working himself into a foul temper. Behind him, Wormmon fearfully scuttled after his master as they left the Airdramon holding pens and made their way to the central control room of the fortress.

Wormmon watched his furious master, worried…. _Ken seemed to be in control of himself before, but now…."_

The tyrant slammed the door open, growling, "Weeks of planning, days of work and all of my spirals gone. And what have I accomplished? I gave them an excuse to learn about friendship! AND NOW I HAVE NOTHING TO FIGHT THEM WITH!"

Wormmon tried to comfort his master, and reached out to him. "Master, please calm yourself. There's nothing you could have done….AGH!"

The conqueror raised his whip to strike Wormmon again. The green caterpillar-like Digimon cowered under the tyrant's glare. "When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you. Now shut up and get out of MY SIGHT!"

Wormmon scurried from the room after another two strikes. Ken scowled in the green creature's direction for a few moments, and then turned his attention to this latest defeat. He sat down in his throne and began to brood.

The chosen children had displayed a certain reluctance towards killing Digimon. Admirable, but foolish. You couldn't save the world without being able to make certain…sacrifices. Ryo certainly had…but the blue-haired boy stopped that train of thought cold. Those memories were too painful to dwell on for long.

Ken's plan had been simple: obtain a viral perfect level powerful enough to swat those armor levels down like flies, but something that the children would hesitate to attack. This perfect soldier would exploit his enemies' greatest weakness…their soft hearts.

And he'd almost succeeded. MetalGreymon's power had been overwhelming, and no Digimon could stand in his or the Kaiser's way. The older chosen, the former leader with the massive haircut, had almost had a breakdown and the other chosen's Digimon couldn't even bring themselves to attack. They were easily beaten back and the Kaiser and his new weapon were almost unstoppable. He'd been well on his way to regaining the momentum he'd had in the beginning of his campaign in the Digital World….until that red-haired idiot had a stroke of pure luck and gained a second Digimental.

His eyes blazed behind his shades as he snarled, "That plan was flawless, and then that fool ruined everything! Now I'll have to start all over _again_! I don't believe this! None of my strongest Digimon can beat them! They're _unstoppable_!"

Ken leaned back in his throne, and reached for his keyboard hovering in front of him. In several keystrokes he swiftly called up the many viewing screens, watching the children's past victories.

The control spires he'd erected throughout his empire had multiple functions, including receiving and transmitting recorded images from his Dark Rings. For all intents and purposes Ken had eyes and ears everywhere. From his fortress he could plan any number of assaults and strategize for his next invasion. It was almost fun planning out his next move in this glorious game.

But a game was no fun when you started to develop a nasty losing streak.

Ken leaned forward on his throne, hands clasped in front of his face as he watched the chosen's past battles with his forces. From the battle with Monochromon to their most recent victory against MetalGreymon, the Digidestined had always managed to scrape out win after win. He watched these past failures: Fladramon burn Deltamon, Digmon defeat Drimogemon, Halsemon mash Mojyamon, and Pegasmon and Nerfertimon triumph over his Tyrannomon squadron. Ken's fists clenched as his enemies destroyed more and more of his forces and liberated the surrounding towns and villages.

"Every time they fight, they manage to pull a victory out of their collective rears. This is _preposterous_…."

He was about to start ranting anew when one of the screens caught his attention. Pressing a few keys on the console in the armrest, he focused on a particular scene from what appeared to be their first excursion. The redhead was clearly on his first trip into the digital world, with the blonde with the bucket helmet and the girl in pink for company. The other two were nowhere in sight. The Kaiser afforded himself a small chuckle as a swarm of Numemon popped out of a vending machine and nearly gave the redhead a heart attack.

As the Kaiser studied his enemies and how they worked together, he gained a clearer understanding of how the group worked together. The redhead was a fool, and the tyrant noticed that the group seemed to have a lot of laughs at his expense. The Kaiser filed that quirk away for thought. "Interesting…"

Ken called up more recordings, a few with sound, picking up more information about his enemies as he watched. He called up images of each child as he spoke aloud to himself, analyzing them as best he could.

"The spiky-haired fool clearly has a crush on the girl in pink, while she's unusually close to the blond boy with the hat. The short one with the green eyes is quiet, yet seems to be one of the brains in the small group. The purple haired girl is obviously the other half, yet a bit too headstrong and tomboyish for my taste."

He next called up images of their monsters. "V-mon appears to be as goofy as ever. The Patamon and Gatomon are as close to each other as their partners, it seems, while Hawkmon and Armadimon are pretty much opposite to their partners in terms of personality."

Ken leaned back in his throne, one hand propped against his cheek and the other drumming on the opposite armrest as he thought. "If I am to break them and their petty resistance, I will have to try a much more…savvy…means of defeating them. I will have to break their…_friendship_."

He spat the last word as if it were a curse. The problem was how to break that?

The Digidestined's unity was profound and nearly impregnable. He'd have to be subtle…and immediately cursed his own carelessness in letting the children have knowledge of his true identity. No matter, though, he'd come up with a better idea. Despite their individual quirks, the children and their Digimon seemed willing to put up with each other quite easily."

"The question is, how do I drive a wedge between them? I know nothing of friendship or camaraderie, not since…"

He ignored the sudden twinge of pain in his neck at the thought of his lost, only human friend, and turned his attention to the screens and the mission at hand. If only there was some way to replace Ryo as a partner. Ken hated to admit it, even with the pain those memories brought on, but he and Ryo had been unstoppable. If the brown-haired boy was working with him now the digital world would have been conquered already…if only he could replace him somehow.

The Kaiser paused then as inspiration struck him. "Wait….THAT'S IT!"

He began to type, creating a new project, one that would guarantee success. This time the Digidestined Children would fall…..for what is an army without a general to lead it, or a body without a brain to direct it?

"With a few modifications…yes, this will work nicely…"

The tyrant smirked, chuckled, and burst into insane laughter as he began his new plan.

* * *

Daisuke snored uproariously as he slept that night, worn out from his battle with MetalGreymon. An even more exhausted Chibimon snuggled up close to him, curled up next to his partner in a position that could only be described as cute. Daisuke shuddered briefly, his face going from peaceful to pained in less than a few seconds…

"No, guys, wait….please…"

* * *

Daisuke smiled. Hikari had finally gone out on a date with him!

The dream couple held hands and walked contentedly on the beach, oblivious to everything.

The red-haired Digidestined Child snuggled closer to his dream girl and sighed contentedly. "This is the life. No fighting, no Kaiser, there's just rest and relaxation at last!"

The boy closed his eyes and leaned onto his dream girl's shoulder as they walked down the cool sands of the beach. His silly grin widened as she threaded her arm through his.

Daisuke sighed contentedly and said, "Nothing could possibly go wrong now…"

Abruptly Hikari tightened her grip on him. At first the pressure was minute, but them it tightened until it felt like a vice on his arm.

His eyes shot open, and his entire dream shattered as he felt the grip on his arm turn cold, hard and metallic. Hikari had vanished, and the beautiful sunset and beach vanished along with her. As the world came back into focus, Daisuke found himself in a dark tunnel.

The scared boy took a step forward and regretted it as the pain in his arm worsened. He looked to his right and saw his arm…with an Evil Spiral attached to his bicep. His eyes widened in horror and he immediately strained to pull the horrible thing off, but it just clung tighter.

"THERE HE IS!"

He looked up to see the Digidestined Children grouped together and glaring at him, with their partners all out and Armor Evolved. Trouble was, they all seemed ticked off at him for some reason.

Daisuke tried a disarming smile, and said, "Oh, hi guys. What's up?"

He took a step forward and immediately jerked his foot back as an _Equus Beam_ nearly blasted it off.

Takeru's blue eyes narrowed, and he placed a hand on Pegasmon as the horse readied another shot. "Don't take another step," he warned. "You're no longer our friend. You're just another one of the Kaiser's lackeys!"

Daisuke's face scrunched up in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Miyako glared at him. "Don't play dumb. We all saw what you did to her!"

"What did I do?"

Iori actually lost his temper for once, and roared, "YOU KILLED HER, YOU MONSTER!"

Daisuke's face went from confused to outraged as he took a step forward. "Killed who!?"

The three children pointed behind him, and spoke as one. "Look behind you."

Daisuke turned, and the color drained out of his tanned face at the sight. Hikari, her body pale and lifeless, lay stretched out on the dark floor, her eyes wide and staring. Next to her, Tai knelt, weeping brokenly as he clutched his sister's limp, pale hand to his forehead. He looked up into Daisuke's eyes with naked hate in his gaze.

"You…you did this. You dirty _bastard_!"

He held up the object in question and replaced them on his forehead.

Daisuke froze and his mouth fell open in shock. "Tai, I…"

"_**SHUT UP**_!"

Tai's fist slammed into his eye. As Daisuke hit the ground, clutching at his swelling eye, Tai reached down and snatched something from his head. "You don't deserve to wear these goggles!"

Daisuke opened his eye to see Tai striding off, carrying Hikari's limp frame in his arms. The other chosen turned their backs on their fallen friend, and followed him. Takeru, as a final parting shot, asked, "Tai, could you be the leader again? You did a much better job three years ago than that idiot back there."

"Sure, why not. I thought I could trust him, but I guess I was wrong."

Daisuke tried to drag himself to his feet, but the weight on his arm picked that moment to increase again. He looked to his right…and saw the Evil Spiral, runes glowing brightly as it tightened around his arm. He watched the others vanish from sight through a haze of tears and pain, leaving him behind. As he wept, the day turned to blackest night. Everything turned into a inky-black plane, leaving nothing but darkness surrounding the young Digidestined.

And then a warped voice boomed out of the darkness. "**IT HURTS, DOESN'T IT?"**

A gigantic version of the Digimon Kaiser loomed out of the shadows, arms raised as he closed in on Daisuke. The red-haired Digidestined Child gasped in horror before turning back around and running with all his might. But Daisuke stumbled, and the giant behind him seized the boy in one great hand.

The Nightmare Kaiser lifted Daisuke as the boy fruitlessly struggled to pull himself free of the giant hand until he found himself eye to gargantuan eye with his enemy, The tyrant's voice, hideously warped and magnified a hundred times greater than normal, boomed throughout the darkness.

**"How does it feel, knowing they would abandon you without a second thought?"**

Daisuke marshaled his courage, glared at the horror defiantly and spat, "We've fought alongside each other for weeks against you!"

The nightmarish version of his old foe leered at him_**. **_**"That doesn't mean they care about you, FOOL. They ignore you, belittle you, treat you with no respect and yet you continue to call them friends!"**

Daisuke scowled…but doubt began to creep into his voice as he spoke next. "What are you talking about? They'd never do that to me…" Daisuke shook his head briefly and snarled, "I _know_ they wouldn't!"

**"Are you so certain…? They hardly put up with you as it is!"**

That last one struck a nerve; Daisuke pointed his free hand at the giant smirking face. "YOU'RE FULL OF IT!"

**"**_**Is that so**_**?"**

Daisuke looked confused for a moment…then saw visions of his teammates. The ghostly faces of the other four chosen children all orbited around him with cruel, mocking sneers.

Iori's head came up first. "You're a headstrong moron with less sense than an ant."

Miyako's image jostled him out of the way next. "You're a useless dimwit, and I sincerely hope I never have to listen to you prattle on about your stupid soccer games ever again!"

Takeru's head shoved her to the side, and twisted itself into an ugly, arrogant sneer. "I'm a thousand times more competent as a leader than an stupid boy like you could ever hope to be!"

Hikari's face came up last, and she gave him a pitying look. "I NEVER want to hear about your stupid little crush EVER AGAIN!"

Daisuke's throat constricted and he closed his eyes with a pained grimace.

The Nightmare Kaiser laughed and continued, **"YOU SEE? THEY WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! THEY THINK YOU'RE WORTHLESS! USELESS! BRAINLESS!**_**"**_

Just to rub salt in the wound, the giant raised his other massive hand. Memories from the past flooded the darkness as the Kaiser spoke.

"**IF THEY DIDN'T, WHY DOES IORI THINK YOU'RE A FOOL? WHY WOULD TAKERU OFFER TO FEED YOU TO METALGREYMON JUST TO SAVE A MONSTER? WHY DOES MIYAKO THINK YOU'RE A HOPELESS BASKET CASE?"**

The Kaiser's voice quieted to an oily whisper that seemed to cut the red-head right to the core. "Why doesn't Hikari love you…?"

Daisuke screamed.

Daisuke struggled to find a response that rang true. He knew creature was twisting things, but there was a grain of truth in what the Kaiser was saying…was he right? No, it couldn't be!

The Nightmare Kaiser held Daisuke up close to his billboard sized face, as his voice quieted to a insidious whisper.

**"The truth hurts, doesn't it? You're no leader, only a stupid boy with luck on his side. Your victories were hollow and your so-called teammates barely tolerate you. and when they finally abandon you…heh, well, you see where you are now."**

"Shut up!"

The tormenter's laughter echoed throughout the dream as Daisuke screamed at him.

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Daisuke ripped his right arm free and threw a punch at the Kaiser's giant face…

…only for his fist to hit the wall of his room rather painfully.

* * *

"OH F_ ME THAT HURT!"

"OW!"

Daisuke sat up in bed, wincing as he cradled his aching right hand.

"How in the…oh man, that was awful…."

Chibimon had been clinging to Daisuke's arm in his sleep, and Daisuke had thrown him off headfirst with that wild swing. The baby dragon sat up on the floor, rubbed his eyes and yawned sleepily. "Daisuke…what's wrong?"

Daisuke clutched at his bleeding right hand and got out of bed. "Nothing, buddy. Just a nightmare. You okay?"

Chibimon pointed, where he could see Daisuke's hand bleeding onto the bedsheets, staining them red. "Yeah, I'm fine, but what about your hand?"

Daisuke held it against his chest and sucked air through his teeth. "I gotta go wrap this…I'll be right back, buddy."

Chibimon appeared mollified, but he hopped after his partner anyway. Daisuke padded into the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit, grumbling to himself.

"It's gonna be a long night…"

* * *

An exhausted Daisuke trudged to school, yawning and trying with all his might to stay awake.

After that giant Kaiser nightmare, Daisuke tried to get back to sleep that night, but his efforts had been for naught. Daisuke barely remembered half of the details of the dream itself anymore, but he still couldn't get any rest.

Chibimon chanced a look outside when no other humans were around. "Daisuke, are you alright? You don't look so good…"

Daisuke looked down at his partner Digimon and managed a tired smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't been get much sleep last night…." The last bit of his sentence trailed off as he closed his eyes and opened his mouth in a cavernous yawn.

After the incident the previous night, he'd slept late and had to skip breakfast to make it into class on time. As it was, he was hungry, tired, and his right hand was still sore. The late bell rang just as he managed to hit the bottom step.

"AW CRAP!" Daisuke broke into a run as the bell continued its chimes.

Daisuke shoved his partner into his bag as he rounded the corner to first period, muttering to himself, "I knew I should've stayed in bed today…"

* * *

Daisuke leaned against the wall, dozing. True to his prediction his day went from bad to worse. Despite his best efforts the goggle boy had fallen asleep in the middle of class and now had to deal with detention. On top of that the nightmare had suddenly come into sharp focus again and now he was haunted by Hikari's dead, accusing stare…

A hand fell on Daisuke's shoulder, interrupting his thoughts. "Hey, Daisuke-"

The goggle-boy jumped almost a foot off the ground. "WAAAAAAAGH!"

Takeru, surprised by Daisuke's reaction, held up his hands defensively. "Whoa, calm down, Daisuke!"

The redhead panted for a moment, then glared at the blond. "Don't sneak up on me like that, TF! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Well, excuse me for wondering why your hand's bandaged!"

Daisuke blinked. "Oh, I hurt it when I …" then he realized what the other boy had said. "Wait, since when do you care?"

Takeru tried a disarming smile. "What, I can't care about my friends?"

Daisuke, still bitter about the MetalGreymon battle, just snorted and said, "I didn't realize we were friends."

Takeru's eyes narrowed as he said, "Hey, I'm trying to be nice here. Wasn't the whole point of getting that Digimental learning about how to be a better friend anyway?"

Daisuke snorted. "Oh, don't screw wtih me. I haven't forgotten that you were the one that wanted to feed me to MetalGreymon yesterday!"

Takeru promptly shushed him. "Careful, idiot! Do you want the whole school to hear you-"

Takeru didn't realize it, but he had said the wrong thing. "I'M NOT STUPID YOU DUMB BLONDE BASTARD!"

The last thing Takeru saw after that outburst was a fist heading his way. "Oh shi-"

* * *

Daisuke walked up the steps, left hand in his pocket, right hand bandaged. "Can this day get any worse…?"

Daisuke had to go to the nurse, having reopened his bloody knuckles, and now Takeru had to hold an ice pack over his swelling black eye. Worse, Daisuke had to watch Hikari acting all sympathetic over the arrogant blonde afterwards, while throwing him a few dirty looks. On top of that he had to write notes all day with his left hand, which made his handwriting nearly illegible even for his chicken-scratch standards.

Mercifully, the day finally ended and he was headed to the computer classroom where the Chosen were preparing their latest excursion into the Digital World.

He reached forward to open the door…and it shot open to hit him right in the face with a bang. The injured boy swayed drunkenly and wondered aloud, "Why univershe hate Daishuke…?"

THUMP

The last thing he heard before he hit the floor was Miyako wailing, "OH NO, YOU KILLED HIM!"

* * *

Daisuke and the newly-evolved V-mon strolled through the grass, Daisuke holding a tissue to his bloody, but thankfully not broken nose. They'd managed to bandage it so it'd heal fine, but the blood made the injury look worse than it really was. The others had gone ahead while he'd taken the time to bandage the cut on his forehead. At least Yamato had apologized for accidentally almost giving him a concussion….but not until after Daisuke had done the same for giving Takeru a shiner. "Lousy older siblings," he grumbled. "At least Jun doesn't try that hypocritical crap. Well, whenever she's around…"

Daisuke and V-mon crested the next hill, which gave them a better view of their surroundings. The others were nowhere in sight, but at least their new setting was pleasant. Daisuke recognized the new area as near the forest that he first came into the Digital World, vending machines and everything. They seemed to have landed on the far outskirts of that Numemon-infested forest, near a sea of grassy, green hills with a clear blue lake on the far left. Oddly enough the soil appeared to have a checkered pattern to it, almost like those racing flags he saw on TV sometimes.

The natural beauty was lost on the Digidestined and his partner, who had more pressing concerns on their minds. The Digidestined were supposed to wait at the portal but had V-mon said what they were both thinking. "Daisuke, he last time the others weren't around…"

"I remember, Ken tricked us and had a bunch of Bakemon imitate our friends to try to trick us into surrendering. But a stupid trick like that ain't gonna work this time!"

V-mon smiled. "Yeah, we'll show him!"

Daisuke just looked at him and grinned crookedly, despite his still plugged nose. "Of course. Just who the hell do you think I-"

KABOOM.

An explosion climbed into the sky, sending tremors through the ground and the lake to slosh over its borders. The ground shook and Daisuke fell over onto his backside, eyes wide. "What was that?"

A voice rang out over the sounds of a battle. "Come quick! Somebody, anybody PLEASE help us!"

Daisuke and V-mon ran towards the noise to see a large crowd of Digimon on the run from something huge. The species were mostly plant and beast child levels, such as Mushroomon and Floramon, with a few oddballs like Numemon running for it. Behind the escaping Digimon was a burning wreck of a village, with a re-ringed Deltamon stomping out of the burning village and roaring at Nefertimon and Halsemon.

"Not him again…V-mon! DIGIMENTAL UP!"

V-mon vanished in a torrent of flames and was replaced by the much more powerful Fladramon in moments. The armored dragon leapt into the fray, joining his friends in the battle.

"_TEMPEST WING!"_

They fired back at the dragon as he tried to swat them like meddlesome flies. Halsemon spun like a top, his body turning into a silver cyclone as he crashed into Deltamon's chest, missing the dark ring. With a roar the blue hydra lashed out and struck him with his skeletal left head, knocking the griffon onto the grass below, stunned.

Nefertimon passed by over Deltamon's head, Hikari on her back as they got his attention before he could crush the griffon underfoot. Digmon ran at the monster's feet, firing his drills and keeping it off balance as he seized the bird dragged him out of the way. Pegasmon, with Takeru riding him passed by on the opposing side to the left, and both of their gauntlets began to glow.

"_SANCTUARY BIND!"_

As they bound the hydra with a rope of golden light, Fladramon ignited himself. With a battle cry he leapt into the air and roared, _"FIRE ROCKET!"_

Fladramon shot forward, a burning comet wreathed in orange flames. He smashed right into Deltamon's belly, striking the Dark Ring with a crash and a scream. The dragon struck the hydra's ring, shattering it and knocking the beast into the lake, where it lay beaten.

After the battle, Daisuke spotted his friends trying to direct the refugees after the ringed monster destroyed everything in sight. He ran over to join them where they were surveying the damage to the now deserted village. The destruction wasn't as total as it seemed; indeed, it seemed limited to the outskirts, but it would take months to get everything back in order again.

Daisuke found the group standing outside the wrecked outer gate put back together. "Sorry I'm late, guys. What happened?"

Hikari answered, much to Daisuke's inner delight. "It was the oddest thing. We were going to wait for you when Ken airlifted Deltamon into the Green Hill village and commanded it to level the place."

Daisuke was disgusted. "That sounds like him alright. So, how many did he ring?"

Miyako set down a brick she'd been carrying and stood up. "That's just it. He didn't ring any!"

Daisuke blinked. "What?"

Iori's ever present frown deepened. "He just enslaved Deltamon and forced him to attack a village and drive out all the residents…apparently for nothing."

"Not quite."

Everyone froze. The tyrant in question strode out from behind a broken tree, looking perfectly at ease. Behind him several massive Kuwagamon advanced out of the forest and growled menacingly. Ken folded his arms underneath his cloak and smirked.

"I would recommend you not try any heroics, my adversaries. This was a nice village. It'd be a shame if something else were to happen to it…."

The Digidestined all stood together, but didn't dare reach for their D-3's in case Ken started a fight. Daisuke spat, "What do you want now, Ken?"

Ken's smirk widened and he looked to Hikari. "You."

Hikari blinked. "Me?"

Ken shifted slightly. "Think fast!"

His arm shot forward, aiming for Hikari. A dark shape shot out from under his cloak and rocketed towards the girl. Daisuke didn't think, just moved. He shoved his crush out of the way and the shape hit him right in the injured arm as he moved. Hikari hit the ground lightly, but Daisuke…

Daisuke started screaming. The Kaiser had thrown a silver dark spiral, and it had latched on to Daisuke's arm. The runes glowed briefly, powerfully as the device began its horrid task.

The children hurriedly gathered around their fallen friend as he thrashed about wildly. The Kuwagamon attacked. The armor monsters were forced to drive them back, leaving the children to deal with Daisuke. His flailing arm, fingers jerking spasmodically, almost shoved Iori in the face as Daisuke convulsed on the ground, howling.

Takeru took one look at his screaming friend and snarled at the Kaiser. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM?"

The Kaiser smiled. "I gave him a little gift. He's going to help me with a little experiment…"

* * *

"AARRRRRGH!"

Daisuke arched his back and howled once more. His bomber jacket morphed, becoming a jet-black, high-collared vest with blue outlines as the rest of his clothes were slowly darkening as well. His eyes shot open, going from their usual dull red to an angry glowing crimson. The color was leached from his normally tanned skin as he flailed about with his now-healed right arm.

Takeru took charge and said, "Quick, we have to get this thing off him before he hurts himself!"

Miyako took a step forward, and was almost kicked in the privates for her trouble. "Yeah, but what about us?"

Hikari just glared at her, causing Miyako to flinch as she snapped, "JUST DO IT!"

Takeru ran forward, screaming his friend's name as he and the other children grabbed him and tried to hold him down. The other children advanced, trying to pull the spiral from his arm but they were forced away from their friend by a horrible dark aura.

Ken couldn't help but laugh. "This is even better than I'd dreamed. I knew the dark power in the spiral would have an adverse affect on a chosen child with at least two crest powers…but this is beyond my wildest hopes! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Daisuke pulled himself up to his feet, his seizure apparently over. He dragged himself up, groaning hoarsely as he leaned against the metal gate railing. The dark aura surrounding him finally quieted as the DigiCode runes on his new spiral faded. There was a brief, pregnant pause, shot through by the battle between the digimon in the background.

Takeru looked at his friend worriedly. "Daisuke…?"

SNAP.

Daisuke seized and snapped off a short section of the metal railing and now stood, hunched over like a wild beast. With foam and spittle flecking his lips, he turned to the other children in a blind rage, before throwing his head back and screaming. The dark aura flared again as Daisuke howled into the sky.

* * *

Fladramon ducked out of the way as a Kuwagamon tried to bisect him. Nerfertimon fired her _Queen's Curse_ from her headdress, blasting the ring on the beetle apart as Digmon tackled another one. Fladramon saw another beetle pin down Pegasmon and was about to take it down when he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest. It started as a dull ache and quickly sharpened into agony.

"What…what is this…?"

Halsemon tackled the Kuwagamon pinning Pegasmon down and looked to his longtime friend.

"Fladramon, what is it?"

Sweat rolled down the dragon's face as he struggled to stay conscious. The battlefield faded in and out of focus as twin aches on his shoulders worsened. "I don't know…my heart… Daisuke…_AAARRRGGHHH_—"

With a roar he shed his armor, the gauntlets reshaping themselves into twin _Ultimate Slicer_ arm-blades. His legs and tail merged together as his body faded from blue to a dull orange and yellow. Two ragged purple wings erupted from his back with a sound like shredding cloth. The mask reformatted into a dull metallic grey and lost its horn as his mouth and snout lengthened considerably. Underneath the mask, his eyes refocused into a nasty, hideously warped yellow with slitted pupils. His dark evolution complete, Megadramon tripled in size until he towered over his allies and enemies alike and roared in unison with his possessed partner.

And, as one, they attacked, amid the sound of the Kaiser's laughter as his plan was pulled off without a hitch.

* * *

How was that? Awful? Terrible? Wonderful? Best thing you ever read? Read, review and tell me!

And if anyone asks, I say Daisuke knows how to bandage himself. He's probably injured himself before, and at least he had to put a band-aid on a booboo himself.

As for the following chapter, the other chosen have to deal with the loss of their friend, as well as a distraught V-mon. Meanwhile, Ken raids set of Marble ruins set in a dungeon.

For those of you wondering what Evil Daisuke looks like, check out Hajime-Ill-First in Google and Danbooru, there's a couple group shots with him and the other leaders in that will get the point across. Also, Google Metal Gear Ray. That's what Megadramon sounded like when I wrote that scene.

This fic is planned to only be about 4-6 chapters, but with my luck it'll get extended to 40+ before ending. Oh well.

Until next time, I'm CyberXIII. Farewell.


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